Tactical nukes aren't real. They start an escalation ladder that gets you to global thermonuclear war in a few hours. Using a "tactical nuke" is just laying naked your intent to have things go nuclear while giving your opponent a chance to respond.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy wanted to nuke Cuba. The joint chiefs told him that if he wanted to do that he would also have to nuke Russia in a massive fully committed first strike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iHr0Hytrls

The article is rank propaganda. Coming from a supposed middle eastern journal it's pretty shameful that it didn't even mention what China is doing to Muslims in Xinjiang. Besides that, China is in taking aggressive actions against many of its neighbors, not just Taiwan but also the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan, etc. Plus the wolf warrior stuff against Australia, South Korea and the like. Not to mention the illegal armed fishing fleet operations in the territorial waters of smaller nations around the world.

In comparison, the USA illegally invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, has meddled in the internal affairs of many Latin American countries, and supports Israel.

One could certainly argue that America's crimes are worse on the margin, but the idea that one supports a rules-based order and the other does not is laughable. Both violate international rules and laws continuously whenever it suits them and they can get away with it.

If they said they didn't find any, then everyone would know it was a whitewash. So they decided to "find" a small amount and then pat themselves on the back.

Reality is about to get all melty and people are gonna have six fingers.

More like you want to read your opinion echoed back to you and you really don't care if it's in the words of a CIA/Cheney ghoul or Charles Koch shill.

George Beebe is a former chief of CIA’s Russia analysis who served on Vice President Cheney’s staff from 2002-2004.

Why do these supposedly left hexbear/ml guys keep posting articles written by wingers?

Ok I get it now. You guys are living (or LARPing in) a fantasy world where the Soviet Union still exists and Russia isn't a right-wing revanchist kleptocratic dictatorship.

There’s nothing up there but lakes, mud, and mosquitos

That's a rude way to describe Saint Petersburg.

Guess my brain just isn't giant enough to conceive of a world where invading someone is a defensive act.

I'll never be as brilliant or wise as you or George Bush.